The Only Exception
by blackrose82
Summary: "Well, what about us? Do you believe we have that 'fairy-tale relationship?" he asked, his voice shaky. I laughed, squeezing him tighter. "No" I whispered. "We have something better". One-Shot. Song-fic.


**Hey! I'm back! (: Ha Ha! So this is just another song-fic. One shot, again. (: It's "The Only Exception" by Paramore. Again, I love Hayley Williams with a passion. Ha Ha okay, well ENJOY! (:**

**P.S. I got this AMAZING review from someone named WW ()…But anywho! Thank you! I read you review during my Chemistry class and it made me smile like an idiot! My teacher probably thought I was on crack! Haha but again, thank you! (: Okay, Bye!**

The Only Exception

"Clare, do you believe in true love? Fairy tales?' Chandler asked me, her voice high in pitch. I tore my eyes from the TV currently playing Cinderella.

"Fairy tales?" I repeated. She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing.

"You know, finding your Prince Charming. Your true love. Like Cinderella, or Snow White" she said, her eyes still attached to the TV.

Eli suddenly popped into my head. We've been going strong for a while now and our relationship couldn't get any better. He's sweet, kind and so understanding. He always calls me and brings me flowers for no reason at all sometimes. We've been hanging out daily over this summer break and I'm still not tired of him. He's just…perfect.

"Clare?" Chandler turned to me and I came out of my thoughts.

"Well, I don't know. The thing is, with Cinderella and Snow White, they all had something holding them back. Cinderella was a maid to her evil step sisters, and Snow White lived with Seven Dwarves and was poisoned with an apple" I told her.

"What's holding you back, Clare?" she asked me. "You have Eli, and he's great! But why don't you believe in fairy tales?" I looked into the ceiling fan, my mind wander. Absentmindedly, I whispered. "My parents"

_When I was younger I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind,_

_He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it._

_And my momma swore that she would never let herself forget,_

_And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist. _

"But in the fairy tales, they always overcame their problems, their holdbacks" she whispered. I smiled and looked at the little 4-year old I was babysitting.

"Yeah, I guess they did huh?" I told her. She nodded. She was silent afterwards and I concluded that she was done talking, leaving my mind racing.

It's all clear now. I can't move forward with Eli because I'm scared. I watched my parents marriage fall apart—I _heard_ it—and I finally realized that I haven't trusted him because I haven't trusted myself. Because of my parents I can't love Eli the way I want to so bad. I can't be with him in every way possible because of my parents, and that's not fair to him. After what happened with Julia and his near-death experience with Fitz, he doesn't deserve that. He deserves someone who can show him that they love him with every little thing they do and have no doubt in their mind that he is the one. That he is the true love, the Prince Charming. And to show him that I can do that for him, I need to get past my parents problems and realize the Eli and I…we aren't our parents. We are so much different. We're so much…better. We have the one thing that my parents never had: trust. And I refuse to let that go. I'm holding on as long as I can.

I looked back at Chandler noticing her fast asleep. I smiled and got up, leaning down to pick her up. I carried her up the stairs and placed her in her Princess n' Pink bed. I tucked her and her stuffed giraffe, Flippy, in the blanket and lightly kissed her forehead. I snapped her night light on and shut her door softly. The doorbell rang and I cocked my head to the side. _No one was supposed to be coming…_

I walked down the stairs to the door and opened it, not bothering to peek through the peek hole. I opened the door, my glare suddenly dropping. I looked at the familiar face and smiled. His soft, strong hands held up a box of Extra Butter Popcorn and the movie Insidious. His leather jacket fit him tight, all the way zipped. He wore black gloves and his face red from the cold, his ears glowing a bright red.

"Want some company?" he smirked. His voice was so deep, raw and…sexy.

_But darling you are the only exception,_

_You are the only exception,_

_You are the only exception,_

_You are the only exception. _

"Eli! What the hell are you doing out there? Your gonna freeze to death!" I scolded him. I pulled him inside the house quickly and he chuckled deeply, setting the movie and popcorn down. He took his leather jacket off and kicked his shoes off. He plopped down on the couch, propping his feet up on the table. I added more wood to the fire and went to make hot chocolate.

"What? Not gonna keep your boyfriend company?" he faked whined. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm making hot chocolate because my oh-so-smart boyfriend decided to walk in the freezing weather with nothing but a leather jacket" I joked with him. He faked gasp and I went back to the couch.

"My heart is crying because of your meanness" he mocked.

"I'm sure your heart will survive" I retorted. I sat on the couch and he pulled me to his chest and I wrapped the blanket around us.

"Cinderella?" he asked a smirk on his face. I smiled.

"She begged me to watch it and fell asleep like 5 minutes into the movie" I giggled and rested my head on his chest. His hand rubbed up and down my arm, warming me. He chuckled and everything was quiet. We watched Cinderella twirl around in her dress, dancing with her Prince Charming. We watched the clock strike 12, and her running out losing her shoe. Suddenly, Eli spoke.

"Do you believe in fairy tales?" he asked me. I stared at the screen for a while.

"I don't know. Maybe" I whispered, honestly.

"Maybe?" he questioned.

"Well…I've seen fairy tale relationships and I've also seen not-so fairy tale relationships, so I don't know. I guess it depends on the people. On the relationship" I concluded. He was quiet for a moment, I guess contemplating what I just said.

"Well, what about us? Do you believe we have that 'fairy-tale relationship?" he asked, his voice shaky. I laughed, squeezing him tighter.

"No" I whispered. "We have something better" he lifted my chin up with one hand and pressed his lips to mine. _Yeah, definitely something better…_

_Maybe I know somewhere, deep in my soul that love never last_

_And we've got to find other ways to make it alone, keep a straight face. _

_And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance._

_And up until now I have sworn to myself that I'm contempt with loneliness_

_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

I screamed and tightened my grip on Eli's shoulder. He laughed and moved his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"It's not that scary" he whispered in my ear, pressing a light kiss to my temple.

"Shut up" I mumbled into his shoulder. He laughed at me again, and I wrapped my arm around his waist. He pulled me tighter to him, his body heat engulfing me. The music from the movie grew more intense, building to the scary part. I gripped Eli's waist tightly, preparing myself.

"Don't let go" I whispered, scared out of my mind. Eli chuckled humorlessly.

''Never" he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere" he said. I looked up at him and stared deep into his eyes. He wasn't talking about the movie, not anymore at least. My lips curled into a smile and I blushed a deep red.

"Promise?" I whispered, my voice cracking.

"Promise" he whispered with such passion I couldn't help myself. I forced my lips on his and his tongue shot in my mouth. He wrapped his hands around my waist, mine around his neck, pulling him close. Our tongues battled for dominance and I knew I never wanted this to end.

"Ahem" a small, high voice coughed and our heated kiss broke. We both looked over to find Chandler standing there, Flippy held tightly in her hand.

"Can I watch?" she asked sweetly. Eli laughed and motioned her over here. She smiled brightly and ran to us, settling evenly in both our laps, the blanket wrapped around her. Eli looked to me and winked, giving me a light slow kiss. I turned my head back to the screen and reached for his hands under the blanket. He intertwined our fingers, squeezing them together tightly. I smiled, and my free hand went up to the necklace with his favorite black ring on it, that he gave me as a promise. His promise.

_I've got a tight grip on reality but I can't, let go of what's in front of me here. _

_I know your leaving in the morning when you wake up,_

_Leave me with some kinda proof it's not a dream. _

_You are the only exception_

"Oh, Clare, thank you so much for doing this, especially on such late notice!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, handing me $25. I smiled warmly at her.

"Don't mention it, she was no problem at all, as always" I told her, as Chandler held on to my leg.

"Don't go, Clare!" she squealed. I laughed and bent down to her.

"I have to sweetie. But if Mommy and Daddy say its okay, you can come over and bake Halloween cookies with me and Eli! How 'bout it kiddo?" I told her. She giggled excitedly and looked up to her parents.

"Pleaaaasse! She begged. Her mom laughed.

"With Clare? Of course" her mom said. Chandler squealed in excitement and hugged me goodbye. I walked out of the door, to find my favorite hearse on the side of the street. I walked to it, smiling brightly.

"Want a ride home?" he asked, his smirk etched into his face.

"Why thank you" I smiled at him, and closed the hearse door. The drive was silent, as our hands found each others. I smiled and stared out the window. The heater buzzed and moaned in the ancient car, as we drove down the street. We pulled up into my driveway and he shut the engine off. We walked up to my doorstep and he pulled me back by the hand, my lips crashing into his. We kissed passionately for a moment, enjoying the feeling. We broke away and he smiled at me, pushing my hair away from my face.

"Thank you for driving me home" I whispered, my eyes captured in his emerald orbs.

"Don't mention it" he breathed and kissed me again.

"I love you" I whispered against his lips.

"I love you too" he smiled and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Clare" he said. I smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Eli. Sweet dreams" he smiled once more at me and I watched him get in his car and drive off, waving. I walked in my house, and leaned against the door, my heart high.

_Oh, and I'm on my way to believing._

**Review?**


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